With its focus on expansions and renovations, discounter Wal-Mart intends opening 150 new or expanded namesake stores in the US in 2009, for which the company to create nearly 22,000 jobs at newer positions - including a number of cashiers, store managers, pharmacists and stock clerks. The forecast for the Bentonville, Arkansas-headquartered Wal-Mart, which had last year added 33,800 US jobs, indicates a lower growth this year.

Nearly four months back, the company had laid-off 700 to 800 jobs at its Wal-Mart and Sam's Club home offices in Bentonville.

In its announcement about the jobs - which comes ahead of the company's annual shareholders meeting on Friday - Wal-Mart said that its full- and part-time associates will be given benefits, including reasonably-priced health plans offering personalized health coverage alternatives.

Of late, union-backed groups have been criticizing Wal-Mart for its policies pertaining to pay and benefits. To counter the criticism, the company has made some improvements in its health insurance coverage; to the extent that the company now says 94 percent of its employees have health coverage.

About Wal-Mart's employees-benefit policies, Vice Chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright said: "At Wal-Mart, we offer competitive pay and benefits and real opportunities for our associates to advance and build careers. Job creation is just one way in which we're working hard every day to help people across this country live better."